Minette Walters' The Swift and The Harrier is a perfect autumn read
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Minette Walters’ The Swift and The Harrier is a perfect autumn read

Minette Walters' The Swift and The Harrier is a perfect autumn read

Minette Walters’ The Swift and The Harrier is a perfect autumn read

Autumn is traditionally a time to curl up with a mystery novel or go into horror for the dark days of October. It’s a well-known fact that publishers plan a lot of these books for autumn every year. As the nights grow longer, the desire to curl up with a book increases. However, I think there’s something delightful about opening a book of historical fiction and getting lost in it just as the weather changes. I think historical fiction should be the new fall reading trend.

This is all to say that historical fiction is working well for me right now as a reader. Minette Walters’ The Swift and the Harrier is one of my favorite books. Every history nerd has a least favorite period in history. I must admit that the English Civil War (the book’s main focus) is my least favorite. A good book is not always the exception. The Swift And The Harrier is that.

England is split in 1642 when Civil War breaks out. Jayne Swift, the daughter from a minor Royalist family practices as a doctor in Dorset. She is also a very competent one. Jayne promises to treat anyone who comes to see her, regardless their political affiliation. She also spends the war experiencing the horrors of war as she strives to improve the lives of Dorset’s citizens. She keeps running into William Harrier throughout all of this. He is a man she quickly likes, and she soon realizes that his mysterious goings and comings are a sign that he might be a more interesting person to her than she thought.

Walters is known for her crime writing skills, but she has recently turned her attention to historical novels. The Swift And The Harrier is one of these. It’s easy to see Walters’ criminal writing heritage in this novel. One of her earliest scenes depicts the execution of a Catholic priest. This was so visceral and disgustingly real that I stopped reading. The rest of the novel is, however, relatively dull in terms of graphic descriptions. Walters doesn’t shy away from detailing the injuries Jayne must deal with, but they are not so disturbing that it distracts from the enjoyment of reading. The Swift And The Harrier might have been more difficult to read if it had included scenes like the execution. However, this is a matter of taste.

The Swift and the Harrier’s true success is not only the realistic portrayal of the Civil War, which includes periods of horror followed with uneasy quiet, but also the love story between Jayne & William. Although this isn’t a romance story it does contain a romantic element. It is a slow, delicious burn between two people who are almost equal in every way. Their relationship is also nine years long, as the English Civil War lasted.

Jayne is the main character in the story. Her work is too important and she is too intelligent to waste time praising William. For most of the novel, Jayne doesn’t think about William at all, except when they meet. The chemistry between them is evident when they are together, and anyone who has read the story will be able to see the ending. Both characters are very busy working on the war effort and there is no rush to get there. Maybe William would have more unrequited desire if he told the story from his point of view, but Jayne is Jayne’s equal, and I doubt that he would have the time to do anything frivolous when there’s work to do.

Minette Walters’ The Swift and The Harrier is a perfect autumn read
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